Japan

Today in History 09/24 (Devils Tower)

Leave a Comment
Devils Tower in the Black Hills region of Wyoming (© Jean-Marc Giboux/Liaison/Getty Images)(1906) Wyoming’s monolith becomes a monument
Likely formed by a 40 million-year-old igneous intrusion, a 1,267-foot-high rock formation jutting from Wyoming’s Black Hills is designated as America’s first National Monument. Native Americans will petition that the name be changed from ‘Devils Tower’ to the Lakota ‘Bear Lodge.’
Devils Tower is a laccolithic butte composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Mountains near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet above sea level.
Phone: (307) 467-5283
Elevation: 5,112 feet
Area: 2.10 sq miles
Managed by: National Park Service
Established: Sep 24, 1906
First ascent: Jul 04, 1893

Devils Tower National Monument at sunset in Wyoming, United States
Devils Tower National Monument at sunset in Wyoming, United States
wiki/Devils_Tower
4.15.A18

(1906) Wyoming’s monolith becomes a monument.
Also on this day,

1877 | Japan’s Satsuma Rebellion ends with the samurai’s last stand
A Westernized army is replacing the samurai warrior class and this loss of status has incited Saigō Takamori to lead 40,000 samurai in the Satsuma Rebellion. Samurai defeats, however, have left just 500 or so warriors to fight one last stand against 30,000 Imperial Army troops at the Battle of Shiroyama.
1957 | Ebbet’s Field bids farewell to their beloved ‘bums’ the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 in a bittersweet victory as the Dodgers plays their final game at Ebbet’s Field. Just two years after winning their first World Series, the team’s been bought and will be moving to Los Angeles, much to the chagrin of their New York fans.
1982 | Prince predicts premillennial partying in ‘1999’
‘1999,’ the title track to the fifth album by rising Minneapolis music star Prince, hits the record stores and the airwaves. Its mixture of dance-party groove, cutting-edge synthesizers, and anti-nuke message grabs listeners almost two decades before the song’s titular time frame.

Today in History 09/24/17

Artist depiction of the Satsuma Rebellion (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1877) Japan's Satsuma Rebellion ends with the samurai's last stand
A Westernized army is replacing the samurai warrior class and this loss of status has incited Saigō Takamori to lead 40,000 samurai in the Satsuma Rebellion. Samurai defeats, however, have left just 500 or so warriors to fight one last stand against 30,000 Imperial Army troops at the Battle of Shiroyama.
The Battle of Shiroyama took place on 24 September 1877, in Kagoshima, Japan. It was the final battle of the Satsuma Rebellion, where the heavily outnumbered samurai under Saigō Takamori made their last stand against Imperial Japanese Army troops under the command of Generals Yamagata Aritomo and Kawamura Sumiyoshi. The battle culminated in the annihilation of Saigō's army as well as his death, marking the end of the Satsuma Rebellion.
Date: Sep 24, 1877

wiki/Battle_of_Shiroyama
4.4.j17


Today in History 09/23 (The Shawshank Redemption)

Leave a Comment
(From left) Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in 'The Shawshank Redemption' (© Columbia Pictures/Separate Cinema Archive/Getty Images)(1994) ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ begins run in US theaters
Just 33 theaters host the limited American opening of ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ and the resulting box office returns will not be impressive. ‘Redemption’ will be redeemed with rave reviews, seven Oscar nominations, and a growing reputation as one of the best-loved movies ever made.

The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murder of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. Over the following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman), and becomes instrumental in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton). William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore appear in supporting roles.

Darabont purchased the film rights to King’s story in 1987, but development did not begin until five years later when he wrote the script over an eight-week period. Two weeks after submitting his script to the Castle Rock Entertainment film studio, Darabont secured a $25 million budget to produce The Shawshank Redemption, which started pre-production in January 1993. While the film is set in Maine, principal photography took place from June to August 1993 almost entirely in Mansfield, Ohio, with the Ohio State Reformatory serving as the eponymous penitentiary. The project attracted many stars of the time for the lead roles including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Kevin Costner. Thomas Newman provided the film’s score.

While The Shawshank Redemption received positive reviews on its release, particularly for its story and the performances of Robbins and Freeman, it was a box office disappointment, earning only $16 million during its initial theatrical run. Many reasons were cited for its failure at the time, including competition from films such as Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump, to the general unpopularity of prison films, lack of female characters, and even the title, which was considered to be confusing for audiences. Even so, it went on to receive multiple award nominations, including seven Academy Award nominations, and a theatrical re-release that, combined with international takings, increased the film’s box office gross to $58.3 million.

Over 320,000 VHS copies were shipped throughout the United States, and based on its award nominations and word of mouth, it became one of the top rented films of 1995. The broadcast rights were acquired following the purchase of Castle Rock by the Turner Broadcasting System, and it was shown regularly on the TNT network starting in 1997, further increasing its popularity. The film is now considered to be one of the greatest films of the 1990s. As of 2017, the film is still broadcast regularly, and is popular in several countries, with audience members and celebrities citing it as a source of inspiration, and naming the film as a favorite in various surveys. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.


Release date: Sep 23, 1994 (United States)
Director: Frank Darabont
Gross revenue: $58.30 million USD
Screenwriter: Frank Darabont
Story by: Stephen King
Awards: American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (1994) · Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film (1996)

Black and white image of the iconic tree from The Shawshank Redemption located in Lucas, Ohio. Photo was after the 2011 lightning strike which split the tree in half
The Shawshank tree after being split by lightning in 2011. It became a symbol of hope for its role in the film
wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption
4.15.A18

(1994) ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ begins run in US theaters.
Also on this day,

1642 | Harvard holds its first graduation ceremony
Nine graduates participate in Harvard College’s first commencement exercise as about 14 undergrads, family members, clergy, plus Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Company, look on. America’s first college will go on to become one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
1846 | Neptune is plotted, and discovered
French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier has used celestial mechanics to plot the coordinates of a faraway planet that can’t be seen by the naked eye, and today, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle’s telescope spies Neptune almost exactly where Le Verrier calculated it would be.
1889 | Handmade playing cards launch Japan’s Nintendo founding
Fusajiro Yamauchi thinks a revival of Japanese card playing would mean good business, so he founds Nintendo Koppai in Kyoto, a company specializing in the Hanafuda card game. A century or so later the firm will gain worldwide success when it evolves into an electronic games company.

Today in History 09/23/17

Voyager view of Neptune (Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)(1846) Neptune is plotted, and discovered
French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier has used celestial mechanics to plot the coordinates of a faraway planet that can't be seen by the naked eye, and today, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle's telescope spies Neptune almost exactly where Le Verrier calculated it would be.
The planet Neptune was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. With a prediction by Urbain Le Verrier, telescopic observations confirming the existence of a major planet were made on the night of September 23–24, 1846, at the Berlin Observatory, by astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle (assisted by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest), working from Le Verrier's calculations.
Neptune by Voyager 2
Neptune in 1989 by the Voyager 2 probe

wiki/Discovery_of_Neptune
4.4.j17


Daily Pic 08/11/18 (Japan’s Mountain Day)

Max_Xie/Getty Images

Lace up your hiking boots for Mountain Day

Here in Japan, Mountain Day began just two years ago as a way to encourage residents to get out and explore Japan’s beautiful mountains. Mount Fuji’s Yoshida Trail, seen in this photo, is open only a short time every year, so it might be busy today. If Fuji, or any mountain, is beyond your reach, consider the seasonally appropriate ‘forest bath’ as an alternative. In Japan, a forest bath is a form of nature therapy, with no undressing, soap, or water required. Simply go to a wooded area and relax, soaking in the clean air and natural sounds as you calm your thoughts. (Is it working yet?)

Daily Pic 08/11/17

© Christian Handl/REX/Shutterstock

Caverne du Pont d'Arc at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France



Today in History 08/11 (Watts Riots)

Fires burn in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood during the fourth day of rioting and looting that began on Aug 11, 1965 (© Bettmann/Corbis)(1965) South Central Los Angeles engulfed in flames and rioting
Spurred by poverty, racism, and tension between residents and the city’s police, riots break out in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. Lasting six days, the worst rioting yet seen in the city’s history will count more than 3,000 people arrested, over 1,000 injured, and 34 dead.
The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion, took place in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. On August 11, 1965, Marquette Frye, an African-American motorist on parole for robbery, was pulled over for reckless driving. A minor roadside argument broke out, and then escalated into a fight with police. False rumors spread that the police had hurt a pregnant woman, and six days of looting and arson followed. Los Angeles police needed the support of nearly 4,000 members of the California Army National Guard to quell the riots, which resulted in 34 deaths and over $40 million in property damage. The riots were blamed principally on police racism. It was the city’s worst unrest until the Rodney King riots of 1992.
Start date: Aug 11, 1965
End date: Aug 16, 1965

Burning buildings during Watts Riots
Burning buildings during the riots
wiki/Watts_riots
4.13.j18

(1965) South Central Los Angeles engulfed in flames and rioting.
Also on this day,

1973 | DJ Kool Herc’s Bronx party kick-starts hip-hop music
Clive ‘Kool Herc’ Campbell is throwing a party in the rec room of his South Bronx, New York, apartment building and he plays dance music on the ‘Merry Go Round,’ two manually-controlled turntables. It’s a great success, and DJ Kool Herc will be hailed by many as the father of hip-hop.
1973 | ‘American Graffiti’ cruises into theaters
Writer/director George Lucas takes moviegoers back to the early 1960s with stories of drive-ins, high-school sock hops, and cruising the strip. The cast includes Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Mackenzie Phillips, and Cindy Williams, as well as a cameo from another future TV star.
2016 | Japan first celebrates Mountain Day
A law passed two years earlier takes effect, and Mountain Day is an official holiday in Japan. The idea came from hiking groups who wanted a holiday to celebrate the country’s terrain and geography. This date (8/11) was chosen since the Kanji character for 8 looks like a mountain, and 11 looks like two trees.

Today in History 08/11/17

German flags in front of the of Reichstag building in Berlin (© Westend61/Getty Images)(1919) From the ashes of war Germany's first democracy emerges
A constitutional assembly in Weimar, Germany, adopts a parliamentary democracy, the first in the country's history, replacing centuries of imperial rule. The massive chaos and loss caused by German defeat in World War I has led to the Weimar Republic, but Nazi rule is less than 15 years away.
Weimar Republic was an unofficial, historical designation for the German state between 1919 and 1933. The name derives from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich; it had remained unchanged since 1871. In English the country was usually known simply as Germany. A national assembly was convened in Weimar, where a new constitution for the Deutsches Reich was written, and adopted on 11 August 1919. In its fourteen years, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism, as well as contentious relationships with the victors of the First World War. The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic rather than their wartime leaders for the country's defeat and for the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, the Weimar Republic government successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies, and organized the railway system. Weimar Germany fulfilled most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles although it never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the western borders of the republic, but continued to dispute the Eastern border.
Founded: Nov 09, 1918
Dissolved: 1933
Population: 62.41 million (1925)
Area: 181,000 sq miles (468,787 km²)
Capital: Berlin
Official language: German
Map of the German Reich, (Republic of Weimar/Third Reich) 1919–1937
Map of the German Reich, (Republic of Weimar/Third Reich) 1919–1937

wiki/Weimar_Republic
4.4.j17


Today in History 08/09 (Battle of Adrianople)

Drawing depicting Roman Emperor Valens circa 376 (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)(378) Romans fail to crush a Goth rebellion in the east
Thousands of soldiers mass near Adrianople in present-day Turkey to fight a battle some historians will later cite as the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire. Hoping to crush a Visigoth rebellion in his Eastern Empire, Roman Emperor Valens is instead killed and his army is decimated by Goth horsemen.
The Battle of Adrianople, sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern. The battle took place about 13 km north of Adrianople in the Roman province of Thracia. It ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens.
Date: 378 AD

Battle of Adrianople 378 AD
Map of the battle, according to the History Department of the US Military Academy
wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople
4.13.j18

(378) Romans fail to crush a Goth rebellion in the east.
Also on this day,

1854 | Thoreau’s meditation on man and nature is published
Two years of living on the shores of Massachusetts’ Walden Pond have borne literary fruit as Henry David Thoreau’s memoir of his secluded time there is published. ‘Walden’ will sell well, and remain a seminal work of early environmentalism and a celebration of the individual’s spirit.
1945 | A-bomb hits Nagasaki as second nuclear military target
Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first nuclear weapon strike in history, Nagasaki, Japan, is hit by an atomic blast dropped from a US bomber. Upwards of 39,000 people are immediately killed as the city is leveled, and Japan will surrender less than week later, ending World War II.
1969 | Five are found murdered at Sharon Tate’s L.A. home
Pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others are discovered dead in Los Angeles at the Benedict Canyon hillside home she shares with her husband, film director Roman Polanski. The murders will be traced back to Charles Manson and members of his cult, known as ‘The Manson Family.’

Today in History 08/09/17

Remains of a temple after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1945) Nagasaki is second nuclear military target
Three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first nuclear weapon strike in history, Nagasaki, Japan, is hit by an atomic blast dropped from a US bomber. Upwards of 39,000 people are immediately killed as the city is leveled, and Japan will surrender less than week later, ending World War II.
During the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the United Kingdom as outlined in the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history.
Start date: Aug 06, 1945
End date: Aug 09, 1945

wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
4.4.j17